On 21 July at midnight, Stitching Particulier Fonds, a representative of a Qatar investor, QInvest, was to transfer payment for Gdynia and Szczecin shipyard (in excess of PLN 380 million) to the bank account of Industrial Development Agency. The payment has not come. The reason was explained by Aleksander Grad, Minister of Treasury, at a press conference on 22 July. In his opinion, the failure to pay resulted from a letter submitted by Shipyard and Ship Industry Protection Association in Szczecin to Polish ministries, Prime Minister, President, representatives of the investor and authorities of Qatar.

In the letter, Lech Wydrzyński and Zbigniew Różycki, representing shareholders of the bankrupt Stocznia Szczecińska Porta Holding SA inform the investor about alleged legal flaws pertaining to its assets.

As they write, “Stocznia Szczecińska Nowa was established on illegally seized assets of former Stocznia Szczecińska Porta Holding SA”. As they suppose, "In 2003-2009, Stocznia Szczecińska Nowa SA was a money laundering business, since the ships it used to build were sold at prices underestimated by 30 - 50% compared to market prices, while the estimated amount of government aid granted to the shipyard in the period exceeded EUR 1 million.  A lion’s share of the funds could have been seized by private individuals.”
The authors of the letter state that in this case, the transaction would be illegal, both from the viewpoint of Polish and Islamic law (the key shareholder, QInvest, Qatar Islamic Bank, is governed by the Islamic law).

„This is sabotage, an attempt to undermine the privatization and prevent the investor from taking over the shipyard”, stated Minister Grad and announced that he would file the case with the Prosecutor’s Office and Internal Security Agency. They are to check both the purpose of the association and their accusations.

In this situation, Stitching Particulier Fonds decided, upon approval of the Ministry, to postpone the payment until 17 August. By then, they will perform additional legal analysis of issues raised in the letter.

„Information disclosed in the letter is at present being analyzed by the investor, who was provided with an explanation by Polish authorities. The letter necessitated postponing the payment for the shipyard assets”, announced Katarzyna Gospodarek, the spokesperson of Polskie Stocznie company.

mab